18.2.5.050Affordable Housing Standards

This section is included in your selections.

A. General Eligibility – Rental and Purchased Housing.

1. All qualifying ownership or rental units required to be affordable through density bonuses, annexation, zone change, condominium conversion, or other land use approval under this ordinance shall not be eligible to receive a waiver of the Community Development and Engineering Services fees associated with the development of said affordable units unless a waiver is approved by the City Council.

2. All qualifying ownership or rental units required to be affordable through density bonuses, annexation, zone change, condominium conversion, or other land use approval under this ordinance shall be eligible to receive a deferral of the System Development Charges associated with the development of said affordable units.

3. All qualifying ownership or rental units voluntarily provided as affordable to low income households, consistent with subsections 18.2.5.050.A.1 and 18.2.5.050.A.2, above, shall be eligible for a System Development Charge, Engineering Service, and Community Development Fee deferral or waiver without obtaining approval from the Council.

4. Affordable Housing Units covered under this section can only be sold or rented to occupant households from the same income category as the original purchasers or renters for a period of not less than 30 years, or as required through the condition of approval for a unit required to be affordable through a land use approval.

5. System Development Charges, Engineering Services, and Community Development Fees may be deferred or waived when units are sold or rented to low-income persons. For purposes of this subsection, "low-income persons" means:

a. With regard to rental housing, persons with an income at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) as determined by the State Housing Council based on information from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and

b. With regard to home ownership housing and lease to purchase home ownership housing, persons with an income at or below 80 percent of the AMI as determined by the State Housing Council based on information from HUD.

B. Rental Housing.Units designated for affordable rental housing in developments which have qualified for density bonuses, annexation, zone change, condominium conversion, or other land use approval under this ordinance shall be rented to individuals or households whose annual income is consistent with the target income identified in the planning approval. Incomes shall be qualified at the 60 percent or 80 percent median income levels for households in the Medford-Ashland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). This figure shall be known as the "qualifying household income" and shall be determined by the City’s Community Development Department in May of each year from the annual family incomes published by HUD for the Medford-Ashland MSA.

1. Area Median Income – 80 percent.The rent charged for such affordable rental housing benefiting households earning 80 percent AMI or greater, including any home-owners association or maintenance fees, shall not exceed 23 percent of the qualifying monthly income (qualifying family income divided by twelve) as provided in the following formulas:

Table 18.2.5.050.B. Rent Charges for Affordable Rental Housing

Unit Type

Maximum Rent Charges

Studio Apartment

23% of the average of 1 & 2 person qualifying monthly incomes

1 Bedroom

23% of the average of 2 & 3 person qualifying monthly incomes

2 Bedroom

23% of the average of 3, 4, & 5 person qualifying monthly incomes

3 Bedroom

23% of the average of 4, 5, 6, & 7 person qualifying monthly incomes

4 Bedroom

23% of the average of 5, 6, 7, & 8 person qualifying monthly incomes

a. The City's Community Development Department shall maintain a table of maximum rent levels permitted pursuant to the formulas of Table 18.2.5.050.B and shall annually update the table in May of each year.

2. Area Median Income – 60 percent or lower.The rent charged for such affordable rental housing benefiting households earning 60 percent AMI or less, including any home-owners association or maintenance fees, shall comply with the maximum rents established by the State of Oregon HOME Program based on the target income qualification as adjusted annually by HUD for the Medford-Ashland MSA. The HOME program indexed allowable rents are adjusted annually by the State of Oregon Housing and Community Services Department (OHCS).

3. Owner’ s Obligation.The owner of the affordable rental housing shall sign a 30-year agreement, or longer depending on the period of affordability established through this ordinance, with the City that guarantees these rent levels will not be exceeded and that the owner will rent only to households meeting the income limits. The agreement shall bind subsequent owners who purchase the rental housing during the established period of affordability. The agreement shall also require the owner to allow the unit to be rented to HUD Section 8 qualified applicants and agree to accept rent vouchers for all of the affordable units when applicable. The City shall file the agreement for recordation in the County Clerk deed records, Jackson County, Oregon.

Certification of qualifying occupants. The owner of record, or the designated agent of the record, owner, shall annually file with the City a signed certificate stating the occupants of the record owner’ s rental housing units continue to be qualified households, or are a household that qualified at its initial occupancy, within the meaning of this resolution, and any amendment made to it. The City shall provide the record owner or the record owner’ s agent with access to a form to complete and sign to comply with this provision.

C. Purchased Houses – Qualifying.Units designated for affordable housing available for purchase in developments which have qualified for density bonuses annexation, zone change, condominium conversion, or other land use approval under this ordinance must satisfy the criteria in subsections 18.2.5.050.C.1 and 18.2.5.050.C.2, below:

1. They shall only be sold to occupant households whose:

a. Annual income is consistent with the target income identified in the planning approval for the development. Incomes shall be qualified at the applicable 60 percent, 80 percent, 100 percent, or 120 percent median income levels for households based on number of people per household as adjusted annually by HUD for the Medford-Ashland MSA.

b. The maximum monthly payment for a covered unit shall be established to not exceed the affordability limits, established in the paragraph above, and pursuant to the occupancy number indicated in Table 18.2.5.050.C.

Table 18.2.5.050.C. Occupancy Basis for Affordable Rental Housing

Unit Type

Occupancy

Households with a greater or lesser number of occupants shall remain eligible for covered units but the sale price shall not be adjusted due to household size above the limits established above.

Studio

=

1 person household income for the designated income level

1 Bedroom

=

2 person household income for the designated income level

2 Bedroom

=

4 person household income for the designated income level

3 Bedroom

=

6 person household income for the designated income level

4 Bedroom

=

7 person household income for the designated income level

c. Net assets, excluding pension plans and IRAs and excluding the down payment and closing costs, do not exceed $20,000 for a household or $130,000 if one household member is 65 years or older.

d. Mortgage payment does not exceed more than 30 percent of the monthly income for the target income level indicated in subsection 18.2.5.050.C.1.a, above on total housing costs which includes principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any homeowners or regular maintenance fees.

e. The maximum monthly payment for a covered unit shall be calculated by utilizing the interest rate for the Oregon Bond Loan Rate Advantage as updated by the OHCS.

2. They shall remain affordable as follows:

a. The purchasers of the affordable housing units shall agree to the City of Ashland Affordable Housing Resale Restriction Agreement establishing a period of affordability of not less than 30 years. In no event will a purchaser be required to sell the unit subject to the aforementioned Agreement for less than his or her original purchase price, plus any applicable closing costs and realtor fees.

b. For housing financed by Farmer’ s Home Administration (FmHA), the affordability shall be assured by the FmHA’ s recapture provisions FmHA which require sellers to repay FmHA for all the subsidies accrued during the period the sellers resided in the housing unit.

The Ashland Land Use Ordinance is current through Ordinance 3147, passed November 21, 2017.

Disclaimer: The City Recorder’s office has the official version of the Ashland Land Use Ordinance. Users should contact the City Recorder’s office for ordinances passed subsequent to the ordinance cited above.